The present invention relates to a liquid crystal device preferably used for displaying various information.
Currently, a liquid crystal device of a horizontal electric field system represented by an IPS (In-Plane Switching) system and an FFS (Fringe Field Switching) system are preferably used as various display devices such as a mobile apparatus. The horizontal electric field system is a system in which a direction of an electric field applied to liquid crystal is set approximately parallel to a substrate and there is an advantage in that wide viewing angle property can be obtained as compared with a TN (Twisted Nematic) system or the like.
An example in which such a horizontal electric field system which can obtain wide viewing angle property is applied to a transflective liquid crystal device having both display modes of reflective display and transmissive display is disclosed in JP-A-2005-338256 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1).
In the liquid crystal device described in Patent Document 1, an embedded retardation film is selectively disposed inside a liquid crystal panel of a reflective display unit so that the laminated body of a liquid crystal layer and the embedded retardation film becomes a broadband ¼ wavelength plate.
In the liquid crystal device having the structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, a thickness of the liquid crystal layer in a reflective display area is set smaller than a thickness of the liquid crystal layer in a transmissive display area due to the existence of the embedded retardation film provided at the first substrate side. Accordingly, a spacer for setting a distance between substrates is generally provided at the reflective display area side at which the thickness of the liquid crystal layer is thin.
However, in such a liquid crystal device, the embedded retardation film is formed, for example, by polymerizing and curing the liquid crystal having optical polymerization property. Accordingly, the embedded retardation film is generally soft, so that it is difficult to form the spacer on the embedded retardation film. Even when the spacer can be formed on the retardation film, there is a problem in that it is difficult for the spacer to function as a spacer due to the softness.
Further, in the liquid crystal device, when the embedded retardation film is provided in a raised manner in the reflective display area, a predetermined step is formed between the transmissive display are and the reflective display area at the first substrate side at which a color filter is provided. Herewith, in the manufacturing process of the first substrate, when an alignment layer for setting the alignment of the liquid crystal layer is applied to the transmissive display area and the reflective display area, due to the step, a part of the alignment layer applied on the embedded retardation film positioned in the reflective display area flows into each side of one transmissive display area and the other transmissive display area adjacent each other positioned to sandwich the reflective display area. In this case, it is not necessary that an amount of the alignment layer flowed to the one transmissive display area side and an amount of the alignment layer flowed to the other transmissive display area side become the same. Accordingly, when the amount of the alignment layer flowed to the one transmissive display area and the amount of the alignment layer flowed into the other transmissive display area side become uneven, a transmissive display area in which the thickness of the alignment layer is thick and a transmissive area in which the thickness of the alignment layer is thin exist. This causes thickness non-uniformity of the alignment layer. Consequently, there is a problem in that line display non-uniformity occurs due to the thickness non-uniformity of the alignment layer to deteriorate display quality.
Further, in the liquid crystal device, the thickness of the alignment layer is generally thin. Accordingly, there is a problem in that an ingredient of the embedded retardation film is dissolved to flow to the liquid crystal layer through the alignment layer to deteriorate display quality.